


economics

by rangerhitomi



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Canon, Study Date, University Students, Vanguard Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 11:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15795990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: They start out as study buddies for a tough econ class before Misaki realizes she might have a thing for Miwa Taishi.





	economics

The professor waited at the front of the classroom, hands clasped behind his back, as students poured into the lecture hall; large enough to seat nearly four hundred, the room would soon be filled with first year university students eager to test themselves in the university's difficult business program. Introductory economics, a prerequisite course to all the other business programs, was the surest way to weed out the serious students from the incompetent.

Tokura Misaki sat in the center of the tiered room. Having been one of the first students to arrive, she picked a seat that would afford her the clearest view of the front screen, where the professor had already pulled up an introductory slide. The syllabus, already read, sat in front of her, with both a pencil and a notebook at the ready.

With five minutes to go, the class was nearly full, yet the seats around her remained empty. It wasn't surprising, she thought. High school had been much the same. She wasn't very approachable. A quick sweep of the left side of the room indicated she was going to be one of only a handful of women in this program. Most of the women sat together in the front of the room.

Someone flopped clumsily into the seat to her right with thirty seconds to spare.

"Hey, Misaki!"

She turned her head and found herself staring at Miwa Taishi. She'd had no idea he was supposed to be in her class, let alone her program; when she told him so, trying to hide her surprise with bluntness, he grinned at her.

"Well, I thought I would try my hand at--"

"Good morning," the professor interrupted, bringing the few conversations in the room to an abrupt halt, "and welcome to Introductory Economics."

As Misaki expected, the coursework was designed to separate the weak from the strong. The professor read from the syllabus--an annoying habit of academics, who must assume university students couldn't do something as basic as read--and warned them of the usual intolerance for plagiarism, discussed office hours, and assigned the first day's reading assignment. Misaki carefully recorded the page numbers into her planner; to her right, Miwa did the same.

When the professor dismissed the class, Miwa stood and stretched, letting out an exaggeratedly long sigh.

"Man, this class is gonna be rough."

"Classes like these usually are." Misaki gathered her things and put them in her satchel. "Not everyone is cut out for the program."

"Yeah." Miwa's voice seemed distracted as he followed suit. His narrowed eyes betrayed his usual optimism.

She'd known him long enough to realize when something was bothering him. "You'll be fine. You studied hard to get into this school in the first place."

"Only because you ran me like a drill sergeant," he whined.

That was more like him. "Then I guess I'll have to make sure you stay on top of your studies."

He let out another long sigh as he followed her out of the classroom, amidst a crowd of much quieter students. "Hey, you have other things to do than make sure I pass econ."

She pulled her schedule out of her bag and consulted it. Her next class wasn't for another three hours. There was time for lunch, and enough time to read her econ homework so she wouldn't have to do it that night.

Miwa still had a worried look to him, his eyes downcast, his posture slouched.

_Is he that worried about doing well?_ she wondered.

"When's your next class?" she asked.

"Eh? Oh. Uh..." He pulled out a piece of paper with class names and building numbers scrawled on it and scanned the column for Monday. "Not until three."

"Good. Let's get lunch."

"What?"

She stopped and turned to face him, hands on her hips. It was her most casually intimidating pose, guaranteed to get him to agree. "Lunch. Let's go."

* * *

 

They sat across from each other at the busy student center, quietly eating their lunch. Misaki finished first and removed her dishes from the table. Then she reached into her bag and pulled out the economics book.

"How can you focus on that when there's all this noise?" Miwa asked pointedly.

"Hush."

He remained silent as she scanned the first chapter. As expected, it was basic material, a comprehensive definition of what economics was and what drove economy. She had no doubts Miwa would be fine with this material; he'd crammed much harder concepts in for his university entrance exams.

Misaki, of course, had an advantage over most of her peers. While she cursed it for refusing to let her forget the most traumatic or depressing times in her life, her eidetic memory helped tremendously when it came to schoolwork.

"Economics," she began slowly, "is the social science of studying the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services."

She read the entire chapter to him, which took an hour. But unlike her, Miwa did not have a perfect memory. He would have to rely on repetition and recitation to grasp the fundamentals of the chapter. She was prepared.

To her surprise, he was, too.

No, not quite a surprise. When she had studied with him to prepare for his exams, he took it seriously. They made flash cards, she quizzed him on definitions, she forced him to think critically. He rose to the challenge then, and she had no doubts he would excel here.

"Value."

"The worth of goods and services determined by the market."

"How does the market determine worth?"

Miwa squinted at the ceiling. "Ehh, Misaki, you're making this hard."

She lifted an eyebrow.

He sighed. "Mmm... different factors play a role. Inflation. Supply and demand. Labor and material."

"Define supply and demand..."

* * *

 

Every Monday and Wednesday, they had lunch together and worked on economics. First in the student center, then in the courtyard once the weather cooled and autumn arrived. Miwa liked to sit near the fountain by the library; Misaki wasn't fond of it, since it was often crowded with other students having a picnic lunch or reading books or chatting, but Miwa could focus here and that was the important thing.

One Wednesday, halfway through October, they went to the fountain like usual. But they didn't have homework to do today; they'd taken their midterm exam. They didn't need to meet up. But it had become such a part of Misaki's daily routine that she couldn't even muster the desire to tell Miwa they could skip today's study session.

"Ehh, that was rough." Miwa stretched and flopped back in the grass. Misaki crossed her ankles and leaned back, glancing around the fountain at the other students who had finished their own midterms and were flocking here to--

_Oh._

"I think I did better this time," Miwa was saying, but Misaki barely heard him go on about how he was certain he'd aced the essay portion of the exam.

Couples.

Everyone here was a couple.

In all this time, she'd been so preoccupied making sure Miwa would excel at economics that she'd never stopped to look around her. Were people always sitting close together, holding hands, smiling vapidly into one another's eyes?

"Miwa," she interrupted, "can... can we go?"

Miwa paused mid-sentence and tilted his head questioningly, but nodded. "You okay?"

"Just... cold." The autumn air was crisp, but it hardly bothered her.

"Why didn't you say something? Here."

Miwa held out his jacket, moving closer to drape it over her shoulders. A chivalrous gesture. She sidestepped him.

"That's okay. I--I have some work for--" she froze, momentarily forgetting what other classes she was taking "--my geology lab."

"Oh." Miwa's face fell. "Um, well, I can walk you home if you'd like--"

"That won't be necessary," Misaki said, stepping back, "but thanks. See you next week."

She barely heard Miwa's _see ya_ as she hurried away without looking back.

* * *

 

She woke early on Saturday, as usual earlier than her roommate, but didn't get out of bed. Miwa had sent her a text on Wednesday saying "I hope your geology lab went well" and she hadn't responded. Ignoring it for a few hours had been fine--she had work to do, she couldn't get to her phone--but a few hours had stretched into a few days and now replying to him this late would feel awkward.

But there was a hollowness in the pit of her stomach, guilt from ignoring him for... what? For taking her to the fountain where couples went to publicly display affection? The same place they'd been going for over a month without her even noticing?

_He probably didn't notice either,_ she told herself. _It's a nice fountain. He probably just likes the sound of the water._

Why did this bother her so much?

_Bvvvvvvvt--_

The sound of her phone vibrating on her desk jolted her awake. It wasn't a text message, but a phone call, at seven-thirty in the morning... on a Saturday.

She picked it up from her desk in the middle of the third vibration and froze at the sight of the name on the call screen. Her finger hovered over the reject button.

On the sixth vibration, she pressed accept.

"Hello?"

"MI-sa-KI!"

His voice was loud, and she flinched as she held the phone away from her ear. Her eyebrows twitched. "It is seven-thirty in the morning, Miwa."

"Heh, yeah, I know, sorry. Wanna grab breakfast now that you're up, though?"

She sighed into the receiver. "You're a pain."

"Part of my charm."

She found herself agreeing.

"I need time to shower and get ready."

"No problem! Wanna meet at eight-thirty at the library cafe?"

"That's fine."

"Super! Bring your deck, too!"

"My--"

"See you!"

She blinked slowly, still holding the phone close to her ear. He hadn't mentioned the text she had ignored. He hadn't acted like anything was wrong at all.

Her roommate stirred; Misaki apologized for waking her and promised to be away from the dorm for the day, which seemed to appease her.

Getting dressed was normally not an ordeal. She picked her clothes based on what her fingers touched first. But she tried on three outfits before settling on a knee-length navy skirt, knee-high boots, and a white button down shirt under an open blue vest.

On the back corner of her desk, gathering dust from being unused all semester, was her deck case. She clipped it to her belt, grabbed her purse, and left.

* * *

 

Miwa was waiting with an extra coffee and pastry when she arrived at the quiet cafe. Most students would be sleeping in, or maybe home for the weekend.

"Yo," he greeted, flashing his salute and a grin as he slid the food toward her.

"Good morning," she said, sitting across from him. The coffee was exactly how she preferred it; she couldn't remember ever telling him how she took her coffee. _Lucky guess?_

"How were your classes for the rest of the week?" he said conversationally, picking apart his pastry and popping small bits into his mouth.

She lowered her coffee mid-sip and pursed her lips. "They were... fine."

"That's good." Miwa didn't seem to notice, or maybe was choosing to ignore her mild discomfort. "My English class isn't going as well as econ. Did you know that the plural for ' _city_ ' isn't spelled _c-i-t-y-s_ but _c-i-t-i-e-s?_ Maaaaan, what kind of nonsense, right?" He laughed nervously and ran his hand through his hair.

"Miwa," she said, carefully avoiding eye contact, "I'm sorry for ignoring you."

His nervous laughter faded into a quiet hum. "You were ignoring me?"

"I guess I was just overwhelmed."

She looked up in time to see him lift an eyebrow in confusion. She really hoped he wouldn't ask her what overwhelmed her, because she wasn't even sure she knew.

"Well," he said slowly, "did you bring your deck?"

"Huh?"

He pulled his deck from the pocket of his trademark pink hoodie and grinned again. "Will you fight me, Boss Lady?"

She snorted and reached for her own deck. "I'll fight you with my foot if you ever call me Boss Lady again."

"Ha! Fair enough, Misaki."

The table was wide enough to use as a makeshift cardfight table; they both pulled their first Vanguard from their decks, shuffled them, and handed them to the other for a reshuffle.

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

Miwa smiled over at her Vanguard circle, occupied by Battle Maiden Amenohoakari. "Sticking with Genesis, eh? Nice."

"It won't be nice when I destroy you with it."

He whistled. "There's that fighting spirit I love so much."

Her heart came to an abrupt stop.

"Ride! Embodiment of Armor, Bahr! Conroe's effect lets me move him to the rear guard circle."

_Don't get distracted_ , she chided herself. "Draw. I ride Witch of Cats, Cumin! Amenohoakari's ability moves her back to the rear guard. Cumin's ability. Soul charge. Boost and attack with the Vanguard!"

"No guard," Miwa said cheerfully, placing a card in the damage zone.

"Turn end."

"Super. Stand and draw! Ride!"

The fight moved quickly, with Miwa executing high-power combos that forced Misaki to use her hand to guard. Soul charging ended up saving her, as it did so often in the past, and she won the first fight by a six-five margin.

"Ehh, aw man." Miwa laughed as he propped his head up on his fist. "To be expected from a world champion, I guess."

"As always, it could have gone either way," Misaki said, shuffling her deck. "Another?"

"You bet."

As they fought, Misaki managed to relax, despite Miwa driving her into a corner more than once. It was fun, something she had missed while busy with schoolwork; Miwa, with his relaxed attitude and silly sense of humor and precise plays and loud laugh and flirtiness...

...was nice to be around.

The realization of exactly what she was feeling hit her in the middle of a soul charge combo.

_Oh._

"You gonna put that card in the soul, Misaki?"

"Y-yeah..."

Miwa let the attack go through and pulled a draw trigger. "You okay?"

"Of course I am."

"You sure?"

"I said yes." It came out sharper than intended and she grimaced.

"Hm." Miwa stood his vanguard and drew. "You know, you're really good at pretending to be aloof and uncaring, but I know you better by now to know when something's bothering you."

She remained silent.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm here if you need anything, got it?"

"...yeah." She smiled. Warmly, she hoped.

He returned it. "Get ready for Dragonic Overlord's Limit Break!"

There was no hope of stopping two onslaughts by Dragonic Overlord, especially not with a critical trigger and massive power boost smashing through her guards. She took the defeat with grace.

It was only ten in the morning when they finished the third fight, Miwa emerging victorious. Misaki had promised her roommate she would be gone for the day, and now she was stumped on what to do next. She could go to the library to read, or go shopping, or--

"It's a nice day out. Want to go for a walk?"

Or she could go for a walk. A quiet walk. Just her and Miwa.

She pretended to be carefully tucking her deck back in her purse, hiding her warm face from Miwa. "Sure."

Campus was still quiet, with only a handful of students out; some, like Miwa and Misaki, were clearly out to enjoy the last weeks of fall before the colder weather hit, and others carried heavy-looking bags toward the library. The two of them walked past classroom buildings and labs, the student center and the library, talking about classes, econ, Vanguard. Miwa told her about Kai's exploits in Europe and how bad Kai's French was. Misaki listened more than talked; that was fine with her. She wasn't a talkative person and Miwa was. Besides, Kai's misadventures of being forced to spend time with Gaillard sounded much more amusing than anything she had to say.

They circled around again, and the campus bell tower rang out the noon hour as they ended up in front of the fountain.

There was hardly anyone here, now. Just them, someone taking a midday nap under a nearby tree, and a few people reading their textbooks. Miwa sat down on the edge of the fountain and trailed his finger through the water, leaving behind small ripples.

"They'll drain it in a few weeks to prepare for the winter freeze," he said wistfully. "They won't turn it back on until the cherry blossoms bloom."

She looked back at the stone statue in the middle of the fountain; a half-dressed woman holding a frog in her hand. It seemed an odd artistic choice, but then, Misaki wasn't a sculptor.

She wasn't much of anything.

"Miwa," she ventured, trailing her own hand through the cold water just so she could have something to do with it, "why did you come to Card Capital?"

"Oh, uh..." He was suddenly much more interested in the water. "I dunno, that was a long time ago. Why do you ask?"

She flicked the water from her fingers. "Because of you, Kai went to the shop. Because of Kai, Aichi. Because of Aichi, Kamui, and Naoki..."

It was something she had thought about more than once. Miwa's presence at the shop had been the catalyst for Misaki meeting all of her friends, those irreplaceable comrades who changed her life. And Miwa was no less one of those she held dear than any of the others.

"Oh." Miwa pulled his hand from the water and wiped it on his pants. His nose twitched, as though deep in thought. "I guess..." He looked up, an abashed smile on his face. "I thought you were cute. Scary, but cute."

Her face burned. She didn't know why this made her embarrassed, not when he had _told her_ a number of times when they'd first met that he found her "cute-but-scary"; she'd brushed him off as another annoying playboy who hit on any girl with a smile and a pulse, and more so on girls who played hard to get. Over time, he'd stopped referring to her as such. They were friends, and now that he knew her, she was more than a pretty face behind the counter.

"Do... do you still think I'm..."

"Yeah."

It wasn't an earnest reply, the way she'd expected. It was uncharacteristically _shy_ of him, with a little smile and a tilt of the head.

"Not scary, I mean," he added hastily.

The start of a giggle escaped her throat before she clamped down on it. But she looked up at him, smiling, and he smiled back, and now she had no idea what to do now.

"What did you think of me at first?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear and thought about it. "I found you loud and obnoxious."

He clicked his tongue. "Ooh, ouch."

"Sorry." She gave him an apologetic shrug of the shoulders. "But once I got to know you, I realized that you had nothing but unconditional love for your friends, and that you'd do anything, literally anything, for them. That's a rare quality. I... admired you for it."

All he could do was smile as he stared down at his hands.

Then he lifted one hand and slowly moved it toward her.

Her stomach clenched. It was a feeling not unlike the butterflies she would get before a tournament match, where her hands shook and her chest pounded, but it wasn't _anxiety..._ was it?

When his fingers touched the back of her hand, it jolted her like lightning. But she didn't, couldn't, pull away.

She let him slide his fingers over her hand and wrap around; she gave into the urge to turn her hand around slowly in his so their palms pressed together, and wrapped her own fingers around his.

He moved closer. "You're flustered."

"So are you."

_Should I move in? Is this... is this happening? Do I wait? What--_

"You know... you're really cute when you're flustered, Misaki."

"Don't ruin the moment, Miwa."

He took his free hand, tucked some loose strands of hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear, and pressed his lips to hers.

It was simple, and lasted only a few seconds, but the butterflies in her stomach had exploded out of her chest; her hand tightened around his as he leaned back, and it took her a full five seconds to remember how to breathe.

For a moment, they were alone in the world.

"So," Miwa said, voice higher than usual despite his attempt at being casual. "There's a Halloween party going on next weekend, will you go with me?"

"Are you asking me on a date?"

"I... kind of thought that's what this was?"

Misaki couldn't stop the laugh this time. She stood, pulling him to his feet after her. "Then yes, Miwa Taishi, I would love to."


End file.
